Oral history interview with Ellie Craig, 2022

Erin Lawrimore:

Today is Wednesday, October the 26th, 2022. We're at Front Street Brewery in Wilmington, North Carolina, with Ellie Craig. So to start, can we have you say and spell your name?

Ellie Craig:

Yeah. My name is Ellie Craig. That's E-L-L-I-E, C-R-A-I-G.

Erin Lawrimore:

Awesome. Ellie, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where are you from, and what was your background, before you got into this industry?

Ellie Craig:

Yeah. I'm originally from West Virginia. I went to school in Westford, Massachusetts, and I transferred down to UNCW in 2002. I was actually studying marine biology at the time, and when I got out of school, I had a bit of a sales background, and so I was very interested in craft beer.

I had some roommates who worked at Lighthouse Wine & Beer, over on Wrightsville 00:01:00Beach, which is one of the original places that put craft beer on the map, here in Coastal Carolina and Wilmington. And through my love of craft beer, just in being around those guys, I saw a sales position come up at Front Street Brewery.

I came and I interviewed, and that was back in 2008. That was well before things really started to get brewing here in the state of North Carolina.

Erin Lawrimore:

Pun intended.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, pun intended.

Erin Lawrimore:

So when you first started, what was the position you were first hired into?

Ellie Craig:

I was hired to do sales distributions. I was traveling up and down Coastal Carolina, trying to get people to put Front Street through Revere on Tap, and that was a difficult thing to do in Eastern Carolina.

This is the land of natural light, so getting people to steer away from those 00:02:00domestic beers that they were used to consuming and selling was a difficult thing to do. It really took a lot of convincing people that this is a domestic product, this is a local product. And it was interesting to try to navigate through that at that time.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Do you remember some of the ways that you helped people think through the domestic/local?

Ellie Craig:

I think just reminding people that craft beer is in fact domestic beer. I mean, that was number one. It was like that. That's as local as you can possibly get.

Once you explained it to them that way, then they started to be a little bit more invested, a little bit more lenient on, "Okay. Well, let's see what you got."

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Do you remember back then, what were some of the beers that you used, to 00:03:00introduce people to Front Street?

Ellie Craig:

At the time, we were only distributing our flagship selections. We did have some seasonal selections that we were getting out there, but we were doing grassroots distribution.

This was before Fintech, before a lot of these tools that breweries now have, to distribute and track their beer, and do purchasing that way. So it was pretty antiquated, to say the least.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Well, and even here in Wilmington, again, you said this was 2008. Was there general a sense there, or here in town, even, of the brewery, its existence and that craft beer?

Ellie Craig:

Front Street Brewery, we were one of the first businesses in downtown Wilmington to really help revitalize this downtown area. In the early '80s, downtown Wilmington was pretty desolate, so the people that began Front Street Brewery, 00:04:00they really helped revitalize this area, and a lot of other businesses came into downtown Wilmington as a result of that.

It really started to bolster this area, again, just having this craft brewery here, and we are a restaurant as well, so that was another enticing factor. Once those businesses were in place and were part of this community, we were kind of a juggernaut.

It was almost like we were more of a competitive force, than we were part of rebuilding the community. And it took a lot of convincing people to pick up our beer on draft. "Why would we pick up your beer on draft? We're right around the corner from you. That's competition."

And it took a while for people to realize that that's not what this was about, That this was more about offering a local product and showcasing what we have to offer in our region.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. No, that makes sense. So can you talk a little bit in general about, just 00:05:00the craft beer scene in the Cape Fear area, in 2008?

Ellie Craig:

There wasn't a whole lot of the craft beer scene. Back in 2008 when I started here, Lighthouse Beer & Wine had been here. Azalea Coast had opened, but then closed. Front Street Brewery really was the only option for a craft brewery in this region, in all of southeastern North Carolina.

That was an exciting thing to be a part of, to really educate people about what we do, and what we have to offer. But there definitely were some difficult moments in trying to convey that message to people, and getting them to understand that this is more about community, this is more about a representation of who we are as the Cape Fear region.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. So when you first got started in the industry, you mentioned that you had an appreciation of craft beer, but were there things that you jumped in, and had to learn really quickly?

Ellie Craig:

Oh, absolutely. I was very new to the craft beer industry, but our brewmaster, Kevin Kozak, was absolutely phenomenal in sort of guiding me through that process, and teaching me about different beer styles, and the origin of those beer styles. And it was enthralling. I absolutely loved it.

I soaked it up like a sponge, and really took it and ran with it. Any information that I was able to gain from those conversations, I was able to utilize in my sales skills outside of these four walls. The other people that I met in this industry were so encouraging of that.

It was really more about collaboration, and not so much about competition. And I think that's very unique to this industry.

Erin Lawrimore:

Very much so. In addition to Kevin, were there other sorts of people or resources that you needed to lean on to help bolster your craft beer, or even 00:07:00sales experience and knowledge?

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, I mean, there definitely were. There weren't so many in this immediate area. As I said, Front Street was kind of the lone ranger out here on the coast, for the longest period of time.

So I was learning a lot from Kevin, but Kevin was also one of the founding members of the North Carolina Craft Brewer Guild. And the Brewers Guild is such an incredible resource for all of our craft breweries.

Meeting people like Leah Ashburn, and further down the road, Lisa Parker, and having those people as sort of a guiding light, seeing what people like Jamie Bartholomew and other people in this industry have done to bolster the industry on a legislative level. In terms of just the overall business model, we really just followed their lead, and watched what was successful, that they had done, 00:08:00and tried to emulate that.

When we had questions or concerns, we could lean on them. I think, as a resource in general, the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild has been exponentially helpful in that regard.

Erin Lawrimore:

Front Street was one of the founding breweries for that. So yeah, I guess the Brewers Guild would have been pretty new when you first started, too. You all have grown up together, in some ways.

Ellie Craig:

Yes, absolutely. As I said before, Kevin, our former brewmaster, he was a political science major, so a lot of the things that we do with the Brewers Guild is of a legislative mindset.

He brought me in to work with the Brewers Guild, because where Kevin has the knowledge, he also hates talking to people, and that is something that I enjoy doing. So we worked very well together in that capacity. I was kind of the yang to his yang, in that regard, and that worked really well.

Erin Lawrimore:

It's good to have that kind of partnership, for sure.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah.

Erin Lawrimore:

So let's talk about your role here at Front Street today, how you went from that just, intro sales role, to what you do now.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, that was an interesting transition. I was solely doing outside sales for Front Street, but that was in 2008, and we all know what happened in 2008, the recession hit.

When that did hit, we made the decision that we needed to pull back on getting our product and our brand outside of our pool walls, and really focus on inside of our four walls, and how we can continue to drive people through our doors, continue to drive that traffic, and really continue to be a part of our community, when our community needed it most.

So I worked with our owner at the time. We developed a plan to lower our food prices, and really make it affordable for people to still go out and consume beer during the recession.

I will say, one thing that is recession proof is alcohol. When people were going through that, drinking beer was kind of a way to drown in your sorrows, and a lot of people did that, and we were able to continue to drive traffic through that. Our owners saw value in that mindset and mentality. And how we can drive that traffic.

So my role then shifted from outside sales, to more of a community liaison. We started doing community-related events, business to business meetups here at the brewery, really trying to create a sense of community inside these four walls.

We were the beacon, we were the ones that revitalized this downtown area, to a certain degree, and we wanted to continue to be that place. So in creating these community events where other business owners and operators could come together, 00:11:00it truly began to feel like a public house again, the place where people meet, where we discuss our issues, where we come together as family and friends. So that was definitely where the shift in my role began.

Erin Lawrimore:

So today, how would you describe what your position is now? I know describing day to day is probably nearly impossible.

Ellie Craig:

It is. My true role here at Front Street Brewery is marketing manager. So I oversee our social media, our websites, all of our advertising. But the bigger picture to that is, I really truly have become a community liaison.

I'm working with the Wilmington Area Hospitality Association, on their board of directors. I'm the president of the Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance now. I work with the Downtown Business Alliance, in Wilmington, to work with other business leaders, to make important decisions, and try to create events, and drive traffic to our region.

Where it initially was just, "sell beer," now it's more of, "connect with the 00:12:00community, and reach out to people, and see how we can help others." How can we work with nonprofit organizations? How can we let people know that the Cape Fear region is a craft beer destination?

Marketing is still very much a part of that, and advertising that, but also working with legislators, and working with people in the community to really create something special here in the Cape Fear Region.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about some of those event?

Ellie Craig:

Hey, hang on just one second. Well, they're going to get ice, so it's going to be really loud for just a minute.

Erin Lawrimore:

Okay.

Ellie Craig:

So, just want to let you know that. I don't know they just ... They got to set up for today, so ... It'll just take a minute.

Erin Lawrimore:

It's nothing, yeah.

Ellie Craig:

Okay.

Erin Lawrimore:

Can you talk a little bit about some of the community events that you've helped 00:13:00organize, and some of the groups that you've worked with?

Ellie Craig:

Well, we founded the Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance in 2016. Back in 2014, we started to see some other craft breweries open up in our area. We knew that we weren't going to be the only guy in town for the longest time, but we finally saw that come to fruition in 2014.

We had Broomtail and Flytrap open. Soon after that, Wilmington Brewing Company opened. So we were starting to see this rise of craft beer in the Cape Fear Region, out here in Wilmington. A group of those people came together and said, "We really need some kind of organization that brings us all together, so we do have a common voice."

In 2016, when we started the Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance, we realized that we were going to be an events-based organization. In creating those collaborative 00:14:00events, and drawing people to our region, we were going to bolster the impression that Wilmington is a craft beer city.

We started Cape Fear Craft Beer Week, which happens the last week in March. With that came two major events, the Ultimate Brewing Championship, and Cape Fear Craft and Cuisine, which has become a premier culinary event in the entire state.

It's really been very, very fun to work on those events with those people. And it's awesome to see people come to our region and realize, "Wow, you guys really do have something special here."

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Do you feel that the Wilmington or Cape Fear brewing scene, how do you feel that it's different from other regions?

Ellie Craig:

A lot of people refer to us as the "Asheville on the coast," but I really don't 00:15:00see us as that. I see us as a completely different entity. This is a very, very collaborative community. There really isn't a lot of competition.

It really is more of a community effort, and the camaraderie that we have, the level of sharing that we have, the communication that we have, I think, sets this apart from other craft brewing communities in the state. I also think that we're a beach town, we're a tourist destination.

Yes, you can go drink in the mountains, and see the leaves in the fall, and that's great, that's Asheville. But we're on the beach, we're on the coast. It's a different vibe. It's a little more laid back. There's plenty to do here.

There's hiking, there's biking, there's surfing, there's paddle boarding, there's all this stuff that we can incorporate craft beer into a lot of those outdoor events that we do. So it really does create this unique culture and vibe 00:16:00here, that's different than other places throughout the state.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah, that makes sense. Here at Front Street, if someone came up to you and said, "Front Street, what is that?" How would you describe the mission of Front Street, to someone completely unfamiliar with it?

Ellie Craig:

Well, we are a brew pub. We were the seventh brewery to open up in the state of North Carolina, so we do have a lot of history here. We pride ourselves on brewing traditional lagers and ales.

But we're also becoming pretty experimental with our barrel aging program. So, much like the rest of the craft beer industry has morphed and changed, and we see different styles and techniques coming out, where we stick to our traditional core, traditional loggers and nails, we are doing some more experimentation, as it relates to barrel souring, barrel aging.

The reason we're able to do that is because we also have one of the largest 00:17:00whiskey selections in the state. So that sets us apart, the fact that we're able to get our hands on those bourbon barrels and whiskey barrels, and utilize those in what we're doing with our brewing process, and learn from that. I think that we're going to continue to grow, in that regard, and learn, and do things a little bit differently.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. And I think the pairings that you guys do, both the whiskey beer pairings, and the food beer pairings, are unique.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, we certainly try to create a unique dining and drinking experience for our guests. So while we do have a Southern inspired menu, with beers paired with some of those menu options, that's unique in and of itself.

The other part of that is, we are now pairing some of our whiskeys with our beers, and creating that drinking experience. There's crossover between the two of those, where you do create that unique third flavor, by sipping whiskey with craft beer.

These are some of those advancements that we're seeing, where you used to just 00:18:00go to a beer dinner, and it was just food and beer. Now we're starting to add spirits into that equation, and that certainly is a unique aspect of what we do here at Front Street.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. With the spirits, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you all have some kind of custom for you all?

Ellie Craig:

We do. We've done several barrel picks, where we're actually going to the distilleries, and picking out our own individual barrel. We'll then bring that barrel back here, and we'll age a beer in it.

There's that collaborative effort with the distillery, as well, to create a unique product for our consumers, and for us to enjoy, too.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. This may seem like an obviously answered question, but can you talk a little bit about how you take this mindset, and apply it in the marketing sphere, specifically in social? How do you convey all of this?

Ellie Craig:

It's hard to streamline how we convey how we want to be perceived, because 00:19:00there's so many different elements to us. We're a family restaurant, we're a place to gather for friends and family.

We do have our event space up here, so we're able to host wedding receptions, and rehearsal dinners, and be a part of people's lives in that capacity. We're also creating a great dining experience, and a really wonderful customer service experience with our guests. There's so many different things that we can advertise, and it does get difficult to streamline that, sometimes.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah, I could see how that could be a challenge, especially in social media.

Ellie Craig:

Lots of topics. Yeah, lots of topics for discussion.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. So you talked a little bit about the recession in 2008. Let's skip ahead to 2020.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah.

Erin Lawrimore:

The part we can't avoid.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah.

Erin Lawrimore:

Can you talk a little bit about what was going on here in February/March of 2020, just before COVID, and how you guys prepared yourself, or if you even 00:20:00could, for what was coming next?

Ellie Craig:

I don't think anyone could truly prepare themselves for what happened in 2020. It was sort of looming. We knew something was happening, but to prepare for it, nobody knew exactly what that looked like.

I mean, at the time, we were talking about, "Oh, we'll be shut down for two weeks." At the time, we also had 86 employees here at Front Street Brewery alone.

On March 17, 2020, when we got the word that we had to shut down, we had to lay off 86 employees, including myself. So that was a really difficult time for all of us. That was a really confusing time.

But I think the thing that helped get us through that was this sense of camaraderie, and holding each other up, and saying, "Okay, these are people that I work with. These are people I care about. Let's grab this bull by the horns, 00:21:00and really figure out how to stay afloat."

And I think that was our driving force was, "We've got to employ these people. These people have families, they've got lives, just like we do, but these are our family, so we've got to take care of them."

Our owner, Tom Harris, was absolutely a champion, in that regard. He really did everything that he possibly could to give us the tools that we needed to continue to work, and continue to thrive.

It was a day by day adaptation. I mean, that was the word, was "adapt," "pivot." "What's coming at us today? What have we got to figure out today to keep us afloat?"

I think the other part of that puzzle piece, the other puzzle piece that fell into place for us, was our representation from the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild. We had spent two decades building up this organization, and well, a decade and a half doing that.

They were in a position, our executive director was in a position, to have a 00:22:00seat at the table when it came to these legislative matters. If we did not have that, we wouldn't have been able to do what we've done here.

Now, we at Front Street Brewery, we're a restaurant, so we were going to be open in some capacity. But there were other industries within our state, there were other breweries throughout the country, that didn't have the type of representation that we had, from a legislative standpoint, at that time. If we hadn't have had that, I think we'd be in a worse state of affairs than we are in today.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. So you mentioned the closings and the massive layoffs. What was it like when things first started to open back up?

Ellie Craig:

It was such a confusing time. We were trying to keep people safe, but we were trying to welcome people back into our doors, with the understanding that they needed to follow some protocol and some rules to keep our staff safe, so that we 00:23:00could continue to be open.

That was really difficult, when you've got a 19-year-old host telling a grown man that they need to wear a mask, to come into our facility. And whatever their political inclination would be would dictate how they reacted to that message. And this is a 19 year-old-girl. There's no reason to be screaming at her right now, just trying to serve you.

So it was confusing, it was tough. It definitely put a strain on us as managers, as how we trained our staff, and how we worked with them during that time period, how we dealt with the general public, how we marketed ourselves.

We were also working with our local legislators here, to try to do outdoor dining, and really get people outside of our four walls, and in an open area. So 00:24:00there was a lot of learning that we had to do. It was trial and error, for sure.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about those local adaptations, and the outdoor dining piece?

Ellie Craig:

Yeah. One of the things that our local legislators came up with, as sort of a solution to the problem in keeping some of our downtown establishments open was, they shut down Front Street, which is right outside of our front door, to vehicular traffic on the weekends, so our restaurants could then go out into that street setting, and basically set up makeshift dining areas outdoors.

There was a lot of permitting involved with that, that we had to do very quickly. It was a lot of scrambling. And then, every weekend, setting that up, tearing it down, and then doing it all over again the next week, that was difficult. And then staffing, too.

When we're in the middle of a pandemic and people do get sick, we have to make sure that we were following a protocol, to make sure that, "Okay, that person's going to be out for a while. Who's going to fill in the gaps?"

There were times where we did have to close early. There were times where we had to think quick on our feet, and figure out what we were going to do to keep our doors open. But it was truly a time where I think we rose to the occasion, as an organization and as a team, here at Front Street.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about how the messaging and marketing that you work on directly played into a lot of that?

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, I mean, we certainly had to really drive home the fact that we were trying to keep our staff safe. We caught a lot of flack from people, about people having to wear masks as they were walking through our building.

We had to advertise that, and let people know, "This is how we operate, and we're doing this not only to keep our patrons safe, but to also keep our staff safe. If we don't have a staff to work with, we can't open our doors."

Without getting into a political debate, or conversation, it was very difficult 00:26:00to explain that to our patrons. We had a lot of people that were very understanding, who said, "We're just glad you're open. We're just glad to be back here. We love this place, it's home. We're out of our house."

But there were some people, that it was difficult to drive that message home to, and so, we did have to make it very, very clear how we were going to be operating as an establishment. And that was very different than a lot of other places, that were just, "We're just open. We're just doing this."

We took the ability to be open very seriously, and that was tough. But I think, ultimately, it helped keep our doors open.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. I know it's hard to think about the pandemic and think of silver linings, but was there anything that came out of that time, that you feel changed, for 00:27:00the positive?

Ellie Craig:

Yes, absolutely. We had just gone through a managerial change here at the brewery about three months before the pandemic hit. We had a new general manager. He had been with us for 15 years, but he was new in the position.

And I think, during that time period, we all had to rally around at one another. We really formed this cohesive mindset, and this way of thinking that was, "At whatever cost, we're going to make this work." And I think our staff saw that, and appreciated that.

A lot of people joke about, "You're in a restaurant, you're in a brewery, you're part of a family," and a lot of people think that may sound like a toxic environment, but it really was true here. I mean, we already had that sense of family here.

We've already had people who had worked here for many years, and had met their 00:28:00husband or wife here, or people that were truly part of what made us great, and helped build us as an entity here in Wilmington. But because of the pandemic, and because that we showed our staff, that we weren't just going to let them go without, that, we were going to try to get them back to work as soon as possible, and work to create something out of, to make lemonade out of lemons, they appreciated that so much, that it really gave us a sense of a true family.

The people that have left us since that time period still communicate with us, support us, come back and see us. And the people that are still here, as a result, really do feel like they have a place. This isn't a forever job for a lot of these people. These are servers, these are hosts, these are bartenders.

But we do try to give them the tools and the resources to springboard out of here onto their next endeavor. And I think COVID, and the experience that we 00:29:00went through during that time period, really made them feel like they truly were a part of something.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Let's talk about staffing now. What levels are you guys at now? I know a lot of folks are still recovering, in terms of staffing.

Ellie Craig:

Front of house staffing has never been an issue for us. Everybody was always willing to work. Back of house staffing in our kitchen has been very difficult. There was an entire generation of line cooks that left this industry, because they figured out that they could drive for DoorDash or Uber, or go work from a computer remotely somewhere, and not have to flip a cheeseburger for minimum wage.

So I think, one thing that did come out of the pandemic that was good, was creating a livable wage for a lot of people that were working in our brew pubs. 00:30:00But it also put a big constraint on some financial matters, and things like that, so once again, we did have to pivot.

We did have to adapt and figure out, if we are going to have this massive labor increase, if we are going to have this massive increase, in terms of cost of goods and shipping, and all of that, how do we balance that without alienating our customer base, and making things so expensive. That they're not able to come out and eat and drink, and enjoy the craft beer? That was a fine balance that we have to strike.

Another thing that we have realized is, we're not seeing those line cooks come back now. So one thing that I'm working with, with the Wilmington Area Hospitality Association, along with Cape Fear Community College, is creating a certification program for line cooks, that will fast track them, to give them the tools that they need, basically their first semester of Johnson & Wales. "These are your knife skills, these are temperature control, this is cooling 00:31:00processes," giving them the tools that they need to, maybe if they got hired right out of the gates, without any training at all, at a lower wage, now they come out of this 12-week certification program, and they're going to be automatically receiving a higher wage.

So, through the work that I do with the Hospitality Association and the community college, we're creating this program. We're actually looking at people that are coming out of prison, that may want to reintegrate into society, but don't have the tools or the knowledge to do that, members of our community that are graduating from high school, that aren't looking for a college degree, but are looking for a career path.

So we're trying to find solutions to those problems by working with our community resources, like the community college. And we're hoping that that will be a successful program.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah, that sounds like a really interesting program. So can you talk a little bit about the physical space you have here at Front Street? Both the side the 00:32:00public sees, and the side they don't?

Ellie Craig:

There is a lot going on within these four walls. This building dates back to 1865, as far as we know. We do have a record of that. When I first got to Front Street, I did extensive research on that, because I was so interested in this being a Civil War-era building, in a Civil War city.

Fort Fisher, the second battle of Fort Fisher. Took place 20 miles south of here in 1865, the year this building was built. And that's absolutely just enthralling to me. I mean, that's so incredible.

So this building has been a number of different things. It started as a dry goods store. Upstairs, on the second floor, was just storage at the time. And this room actually wasn't even here, it was actually a lot lower. This was just a attic space.

In 1895, this building burned. There was a fire that took five buildings on the 00:33:00block, and the roof was damaged. So they actually added the natural light well, and created this space up here. It then became a sail repair shop for the ports in downtown Wilmington, which is just a block east of us, west of us. Pardon me.

So the sail repair shop was up here, the dry goods store was downstairs. At one point, this was a candy store for the movie theater across the street, and then, upstairs was actually a dentist's office. So you could get cavities downstairs, and come up here, and get them fixed.

So this building has been through a lot. We do have a resident ghost. We had a gentleman by the name of Henry Wentzel, that was painting our natural light well, on November 1, 1895. So it was All Souls Day, it was the day after Halloween, and unfortunately, he fell to his death on the cash register downstairs.

We have record of that, and we have several Henry sightings. So there's a lot of 00:34:00energy in this building. There's a lot going on in here. Once again, as I said, back in the early '90s, I'm sorry, early '80s, downtown Wilmington was pretty desolate.

There was a family of hog farmers from the area that came in, and started Front Street Brewery, purchased the building, started the brewery, opened in 1995, and they sold to our current owner, in 2006.

He really saw the potential of what the Murphy family saw, and kick started here. But he really saw more potential in that. So his investment in this brewery, not just as a restaurant, not just as a brewery, but as a true beacon for the community. He was really the visionary for that.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Can you talk a little bit, I know you've got, you all have had some, I 00:35:00don't know if renovation is the word you use, but some physical space changes ...

Ellie Craig:

Yeah. Yes.

Erin Lawrimore:

Recently. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Ellie Craig:

Well, because this building is so old, the electrical components in this building are pretty wild. The plumbing, as I say, dating back to 1865. There's a lot of stuff behind these walls that is very interesting to discover, sometimes, when we have to.

So the renovations that we did last year weren't so much renovations of the aesthetic. I mean, if it's not broken, don't fix it. People enjoy our aesthetic. We're in a historic building. It has that feel. We still have our tin ceilings, we still have our big dark wood bar.

These were more of infrastructure repairs that we needed to make. Operating here for 26 years, we needed to make some changes and some upgrades. So we did do 00:36:00some plumbing upgrades, we did some flooring upgrades, we updated some wiring.

There was just a lot of stuff behind the scenes that a lot of people don't see the guts of a historic building that needed to be addressed. So we took that time to address those.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah.

Ellie Craig:

Yup.

Erin Lawrimore:

And you all were closed for a little bit, weren't you?

Ellie Craig:

We were closed for a month-long period to do that. January is one of our slower months out here on the coast. We are a tourism-driven economy, and a lot of that comes during the summer months when it's beautiful, when people are at our area beaches.

January has also become kind of known, that a lot of people do dry January now. So that's put a little bit of a pinch on our craft beer drinking in January, and our consumption levels.

We just thought, "What a great time, to just shut down for the month, give our staff the opportunity to still work, and help out on the projects. And still pay 00:37:00them, but take the time that we need, to really make sure that we can continue to operate for the next 20 years."

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Thinking about the history of both Front Street and the building, you said you've done a lot of research, and it's fascinating history. How do you incorporate that into the marketing, and into events, and things like that here?

Ellie Craig:

We have that information on our website, we actually have it on our menu. People will ask for the history of the building, and we have an extensive history that we'll actually print out, and give to them to take home, just because there is so much that's happened in this building, so marketing that as the fact that we are located right in the heart of historic downtown Wilmington.

People do still come to visit us for that very fact. They enjoy seeing this type of architecture. They enjoy the feeling of being in one of these big historic buildings, and drinking beer and whiskey in an old, dark wooden brick building. 00:38:00That is part of our aesthetic, that is just the vibe that we try to create for people, and I don't think that's ever going to change.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah.

Ellie Craig:

As we continue to see downtown Wilmington grow, which it is, most definitely growing, we're seeing a lot of the developmental on the north side of the river up towards Riverfront Park. We're seeing the growth of our community college.

We're seeing a lot more tech and a lot more industry come in here. We've got a lot more people moving to the area, but the development that we're seeing around us, we still have historic Wilmington right outside our doors. And I think people really appreciate that history, and learning about that history.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. I mean, you can't escape that in this part of Wilmington, really.

Ellie Craig:

It's beautiful.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about how you and others here hope to see Front Street growing in the future, in the next few years? I know it's hard to predict things, these days, especially.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, absolutely. Pre-pandemic, we had delusions of grandeur ... Not really.

We had plans to maybe expand, or have a tap room somewhere, or do something outside of our four walls, because we are confined by our four walls, among all these other historic buildings downtown. There's not a lot of way for us to grow, other than what we have packed into these four floors.

But there's always hope for us to expand and grow, and have a tap room, whether it be here at Wilmington, or another part of the state, or a nearby town. So that's always an option.

I think that was definitely slowed and hindered by the pandemic, but there's certainly room for growth. There's room for growth in this industry, so we're hopeful for that. And then, it relates to the entire craft beer scene here in Wilmington, it's just booming.

The theme of our organization, the Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance is, "A high 00:40:00ride lifts all ships," and it is true. So if we continue to rely on each other, and support each other, and make sure we that we just don't have the most beer, we've got some of the best beer, then that's going to speak for itself. That's going to draw people to our region, and let people know that we are truly a craft beer destination, and a craft beer community.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. And speaking of the Cape Fear Craft Beer ... that's hard to say.

Ellie Craig:

Yes.

Erin Lawrimore:

Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance. Can you talk a little bit about some of the events? You mentioned some food and wine, or food and beer festivals, and other events. Can you talk a little bit more about those events, and how they have developed, or are developing?

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, absolutely. I did speak to Cape Fear Craft and Cuisine, and the development of that, as one of our most heavily attended, most highly anticipated events.

We have 25 area chefs that are paired with 25 local breweries. The focus is on 00:41:00the beer, and we're creating a small bite, by some of the most wonderful chefs in all of Wilmington, that pairs with that beer.

The focus is on the beer, not on the food, and I think that sets that event apart. We used to host that at Airlie Gardens, right on the banks of Bradley Creek. We've moved that event to the North Carolina Aquarium, at Fort Fisher, so you really get a sense that you're on the coast, you're drinking beer, underwater. "There are sharks in here."

It's a really cool backdrop, and I think it's just a wonderful reminder that you're on the coast, drinking. So that's been a really awesome event for us to continue to put on and host.

Obviously, we did not do that during COVID, and so, we shifted a lot of our efforts with the Cape Fear Craft Beer Alliance during COVID. Because we were an events-based organization, there were a lot of people in our industry that were out of a job.

We actually worked with a local nonprofit, that we had worked with previously, to do some fundraising for them. And we created a free grocery program for people in the service industry that had lost their jobs, had no income, didn't know what they were going to do, had families to feed. So members of our organization banded together, slapped on some masks, got in a building, and started a free grocery program, and did opportunity buys for food products that we would have used to host Cape Fear Craft Beer Week.

But we knew that the community needed us, more than we needed to hang onto that cash that we didn't know we were going to do with. So that was a really, really wonderful accomplishment from our organization, and a highlight of working with them. We're also now working with that same organization, because they helped us out during that time period.

There are a lot of instances where one craft brewery will work with one nonprofit organization. And yes, you raise some funds, but when you band 00:43:00together, and you work together in a collaborative effort, in a unified force, you can do so much more. That's what the craft beer community is all about.

Going into the end of 2022 and 2023, we're working on a project where 14 of our members are actually going to be raising funds for this one organization, in an effort to really make a sizable donation, and an impact, and raise enough money to really help feeding children in our area that are in need. Those are some of the events that we're working on now, and some of the collaborative efforts that we're working on, to really help change the community.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah, for the upcoming event fundraiser, is there a similar approach that everyone's going to take to fundraising, or ...

Ellie Craig:

Yeah, so we've created a QR code for each individual establishment. Patrons will 00:44:00go into their establishments, they'll scan that QR code, they'll make a $5 donation, but it'll be specific to that brewery, or to that tap room, so we can track who's raising the most amount of money.

Once you make a $5 donation, you are entered to win a trick to Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest 2023. So this is an exciting thing. We think doing this over the course of a six-month period leading up to Cape Fear Craft Beer Week, versus just doing it for a shortened period of time, is really going to make an impact.

The winner will be selected from the brewery that raises the most amount of money, so that's going to help drive traffic to those breweries. "Oh, you've entered to win, but you need to come back and spend more money with us, and enter again. Because the more money that we earn, the more likely you have a chance to win."

Erin Lawrimore:

So, yeah, that's awesome.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah.

Erin Lawrimore:

When you think about the industry as a whole, either here in Wilmington or 00:45:00across the state, whichever way you want to go with it, what do you see as some of the biggest challenges and issues facing the industry today?

Ellie Craig:

I think that while craft beer will always have a huge place here in North Carolina, the spirits industry is coming on strong. Craft breweries were really the hot thing, for a number of years. They did become our public houses. They did become our gathering spots, and they still are, for that matter.

But we're starting to see the rise of craft distilleries. We're starting to see a boom in the cocktail industry, in mixed beverages. So I think that there are going to be ways that we're going to have to adapt, in terms of our offerings, and the experience that we're giving our guests, that we're going to have to make sure we're keeping fresh, and keeping it exciting for our consumers.

Because the beverage industry, it has its trends. It morphs, it changes, even 00:46:00within the craft beer industry. We see the rise and fall of the Gose, and the Hazy IPA craze, and then, the fruited IPA craze, and then, fruited sours. There are all these trends that happen, that are constantly affecting our industry.

But I think, over the course of time, and the fact that we do have over 380 breweries in our state now, and we truly are the Southern state of beer, goes to show that we are adapting, and we are doing what it takes to make sure that our industry is thriving.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. So if you had a crystal ball, where do you think that the industry might be, in five or 10 years?

Ellie Craig:

I think that's really hard to tell right now. I think there's so many uncertain factors that, not to get into a political discussion here, but we have an 00:47:00impending recession. We have war. We have a lot of things that can affect all of our society.

But I think the one thing that is a mainstay, is that craft breweries truly do represent community, and they are going to be a place that people continue to gather, and they are going to be a place that people celebrate life. So I continue to think that it will thrive, and I continue to think that we're going to be okay as an industry, no matter what.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Well, thinking about community, and events and celebrations, thinking back on the years that you've been in this position, do you have a favorite kind of event that you've helped with, or organized, that just stands out as your favorite thing you've done?

Ellie Craig:

Gosh, there's so many things that I've been so honored to be a part of, and to 00:48:00work with people. We did do a breast cancer awareness fundraiser, called Mugs for Jugs, for a number of years.

Post-MeToo Movement, we retired that name, although it was a lot of fun to host that event, and as a woman, that I felt okay doing that. But we raised a lot of money over the course of, I think, a six- or seven-year span, to provide free mammograms for women that qualified for their program. In essence, I think we saved a lot of lives. That was probably one of the more meaningful events that I've been a part of.

And then, of course, the free grocery program during the pandemic. I mean, we fed a lot of people in need. So being a part of those two events, where we're truly giving back to the community and helping people, that's brought me the 00:49:00most joy.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. So let's talk about beer.

Ellie Craig:

Okay. I love beer.

Erin Lawrimore:

Specifically about beer.

Ellie Craig:

Okay.

Erin Lawrimore:

Tell me a little bit about some of the flagships that you have here, what they are, and honestly, what some of the more popular ...

Ellie Craig:

Sure.

Erin Lawrimore:

Flagships are.

Ellie Craig:

So we have five flagships here at Front Street Brewery. We're probably best known for our Dram Tree Scottish Ale, which is a dark beer, and not something that people in Eastern Carolina 15 years ago were going to be drinking.

But I think, educating people, that color of beer doesn't dictate flavor profile, and kind of letting people know, "This is not Guinness, this is not bitter. This is actually a sweeter ale."

And just that education, and letting people know, that that's an option, that was fun to watch. So our Dram Tree Scottish Ale is one of our most highly regarded beers, kind of our house specialty.

Our Amberjack English Ale is quite possibly our most award-winning beer. It started as an ESB, an extra special bitter, and morphed into an English ale.

So a lot of traditional beers that we have on draft for our flagships, we also do have an IPA, our Port City IPA, that has morphed and changed over the course of time, several different iterations of that beer, but I think we finally got that dialed in where we want it, and where our consumers want it.

Because there certainly is the situation of beer styles changing throughout the course of time, and consumers' palates changing. So adapting to that, and making sure that we're providing our consumers with what they want, while still maintaining our integrity, in terms of what we're bringing to the table, in terms of quality and product.

So yeah, we do have our flagship selections that are available year round, and then, our seasonal selections are all over the board. Bourbon barrel aged beers, 00:51:00fruited sours, honey ales with local honey. We're really good and creative with some of the ingredients that we're using.

Another example of that is we're using a pindo palm fruit that grows here locally. It's actually called a palm, a jelly bubble, because traditionally, the fruit was used to make jellies and jams.

But we discovered that this really fibrous orange fruit, that was growing literally all over town on our palm trees, actually has some pretty amazing flavors to it. It's got some papaya, some guava, some really interesting tropical flavors, that we were able to incorporate into a beer. So that experimentation is really exciting about what we do, too.

Erin Lawrimore:

Too. Yeah. Do you personally have a favorite, either of the flagships, or of even the special ...

Ellie Craig:

I think that that sort of changes with the tides, it changes with the seasons. I 00:52:00do have a beer here that I truly do adore. It is our Baltic Porter. It is brewed for St. Stan's Polish Festival every year, which takes place in Castle Hayne, North Carolina.

Our former brewmaster, Kevin Kozak, he is Polish, and was very excited to brew this beer and share this beer with me. And it was like nothing I'd ever had before. I mean, it's a rare beer style, so when he first introduced this to me 14 years ago, I fell in love with it. And it's been something that I look forward to every year.

It's something that I really enjoy sharing with our community, and releasing at that festival. The people that attended Polish Festival just absolutely love having that representation of a beer style that's truly theirs.

Not only do we get to drink that delicious beer, but we get to celebrate it with people that truly appreciate it. So that's definitely my favorite, St. Stan's 00:53:00Baltic Porter.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Well, thinking outside of these four walls, do you have other favorite beers in the area?

Ellie Craig:

Oh, absolutely. I mean, gosh, we have so many wonderful craft breweries here. Bill's Brewing Company, their Pillow Talk.

Erin Lawrimore:

What style is that?

Ellie Craig:

I believe it's a Pilsner, but don't quote me on that.

Erin Lawrimore:

We'll look it up.

Ellie Craig:

And then, Tropical Lightning, of course, everybody that's sort of synonymous with Wilmington Beer, it's brewed by Wilmington Brewing Company. It is a great IPA. Blair's Breakfast Stout, another really great stout out of Wilmington Brewing Company.

I really enjoyed going over to Flytrap, and seeing what they have in terms of their Belgian beer selection, and then, their seasonals. They've got some peach, they've got a peach saison that's absolutely phenomenal.

So it really just depends on the time of year. There's so much to explore here, 00:54:00and so many crack breweries to get out, and do some research and development, and what are you guys serving? What are you drinking? Have that sense of comradery with people in the industry, where we can just talk beer. So that's really great, to have here in this area.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Well, as somebody who works on the marketing side in a craft brewery, when you personally go into a craft brewery for the first time, whether it's around here, or ...

Ellie Craig:

Anywhere.

Erin Lawrimore:

Traveling somewhere else. Are there particular things that you look for, when you're going, "Oh, I really like this place," or even, "I really don't like this place?"

Ellie Craig:

I think in most industries, you'll find, that's just part of research and development. "What are you guys doing that's working for you? What are you doing that we could emulate and play off of, but make our own?

I think imitation is the finest form of flattery, and there are ways that you can work with other people to collaborate on that, see what they're doing that works well, and try to incorporate that into what you are doing. And that 00:55:00applies to the restaurant industry, and the craft beater industry, and just the overall experience that we're trying to give to our guests here.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah. Well, one thing, this is backing up awhile back, that I forgot to ask. You talked about some changes in distribution in 2008. What does distribution look like for Front Street now?

Ellie Craig:

I think we made a conscious decision, probably about 2012, that we did not want to be fighting for elbow room. We didn't want to engage in the rat race that we knew was coming.

We were seeing this support from local legislators, in terms of growth of craft breweries. We were seeing interest from the state of North Carolina, and its citizens, in terms of craft breweries. So we knew we weren't going to be the only game in town forever.

And I think we made the conscious decision, that instead of distributing and 00:56:00fighting for that elbow room, we were really going to have to focus on driving people through our doors, and giving them a truly unique experience here within our four walls. So in making that decision early on, before we saw the boom here out in the Wilmington and Cape Fear region, in terms of craft beer, Front Street Brewery really, really changed our entire business model, in that regard.

So we're doing very, very minimal localized distribution right now. We work with, there's a tap room on the other side of town, where people drink five minutes from where they live. So if they're got an option in between us and them, then they're going to drink closer to where they reside.

Because of that, we'll do some very strategic placement of some product at some of those tap rooms, and some of those craft beer bars, and stuff like that. So 00:57:00we are staying relevant in the community, and people are still able to check out our product, but it's not a massive distribution.

One thing that we have certainly changed is making the shift from glass product to cans. So we are canning our products now, which is exciting for us. We don't have a canning line, we are hand canning, but it gives our customer base more of an opportunity to enjoy our beers, doing the activities that they're known for, out here on the coast.

If you're going to the beach, if you're going on the boat, you can take a canned product with us, or with you, more easily than you can a glass product. So once again, that adaptation, that changing of the tides, and making changes that are going to improve our guest drinking experience, all the way across the board.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah, so that kind of ends the list of my prepared questions. Is there anything we didn't talk about?

Ellie Craig:

I've just talked for a really long time, so I think we covered a lot.

Erin Lawrimore:

You did fantastic. But I just wanted to make sure, in terms of your career, and your personal story and your work here, is there anything we didn't talk about?

Ellie Craig:

I don't think so.

Erin Lawrimore:

Yeah.

Ellie Craig:

I mean, I think that the craft beer community, and my position, morphing from a distribution manager into what it is today, has given me a platform that's given me a place to make a difference in my community, and help other people, and help bring more craft beer to this area, and help improve that craft beer experience. So that part of my career has been really, really fulfilling, and I'm looking forward to continuing that path.

Erin Lawrimore:

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time, I appreciate it.

Ellie Craig:

Yeah.